OECD, G20 members like India & China should not get special rights: US to WTO

NEW DELHI: The US has proposed withdrawal of special rights and exemptions for emerging economies such as India and China, which are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Group of 20 (G20), classified as “high income” by the World Bank or account for more than 0.5% of global merchandise trade.

India’s share in global exports was 1.68% in 2017 while that in global imports was 2.48%.“The proposal is a devastating one. It will deprive a large number of countries from exemptions,” said an official privy to the details.

The proposal made to the World Trade Organization last week comes days after the US accused emerging economies of claiming rights and using exemptions from commitments meant for poorer nations in global trade negotiations.

The special provisions for developing countries include longer time periods to implement agreements and commitments, measures to increase trading opportunities, provisions to safeguard their trade interests and support to build capacity to handle disputes and implement technical standards.

The US proposed that countries should not avail of special and differential treatment in current and future WTO negotiations if they are a “member of the OECD, G20, classified as a ‘high income’ country by the World Bank or that one accounts for no less than 0.5% of global merchandise trade.”

India’s share in global exports was 1.68% in 2017 while that in global imports was 2.48%.

The US claimed last month that India used its status as a developing member to press for continued exemption from its commitments of some $30 billion in input subsidies, a rule intended to address some of the poorest farmers.

In its latest submission, the US said it wanted to strengthen the negotiating function of the WTO to produce “high-standard, reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements directed to the substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade and to the elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade relations.”

In fact, segment leaders like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp have reported de-growth of 34.3 per cent, 45 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively giving a clear indication of a prolonged slowdown in the sector.